BackCouncils failing communities in icy weather
With snow and freezing temperatures expected to continue throughout the week and over Christmas, national charity Living Streets has called on Councils not to forget pedestrians and keep our pavements ice free.
Snow and ice cause problems across the country each winter, but whilst the disruption that they create on the road and runway is well known, the risks that they present to those travelling on foot are frequently ignored. Roads are routinely gritted while pavements are often neglected, turning them into dangerous ice rinks for anyone on foot.
There are varying degrees of grit and salt levels across the country and further confusion over who should be responsible for gritting our footpaths. With heavy snowfall across the country over the last weekend and more forecast for this week and over the Christmas period, Living Streets is calling for local authorities to pledge to ensure our pavements are kept ice free and to mobilise community volunteers for pavement gritting to avoid a repeat of last year’s 7,000 snow and ice related hospital admissions.
Tony Armstrong, Chief Executive of Living Streets, said:
“We are pleased that our calls have been taken seriously in the Winter Resilience Audit released yesterday, but there is still so much more Government and local councils could be doing to make sure people don’t feel trapped an isolated in their homes this winter.
“The Government doesn’t appear to be learning from the past two winters and has not adequately prepared yet again. Not only is travel in chaos generally, but our pavements are still being neglected while roads take priority. There are willing volunteers out there who are happy to grit pavements in their local areas, but advice seems to be to leave the grit in bins for the purpose of gritting roads, whilst those on foot are neglected.
“During bad weather, at a minimum people should be able to walk to and from their local shops and services without fear of slipping on the ice. We want to see local authorities sign a winter contract with their community to work together so no one is isolated or vulnerable because of the weather. This contract should include gritting, co-ordinating volunteer ice wardens to keep communities moving, and re-deploying council staff that are unable to do their usual jobs in the icy weather.
ENDS
Notes to editors
Living Streets has developed a Winter Contract for Local Authorities and Communities to commit to, to keep local streets ice free.
The independent Winter Resilience Audit of how England’s transport systems coped with the recent severe winter weather was published yesterday. The audit recommends further measures to enable national Government, local councils, transport providers and the public in England to manage and respond to severe winter weather, and is based on the first episode of winter weather (Wednesday 24th November to Thursday 9th December)
For any media enquiries please contact Anna Powell on 020 7377 4914 or email anna.powell@livingstreets.org.uk. For any out of office hours enquiries, please call 07545 209865.
Living Streets is the national charity that stands up for pedestrians. With our supporters we campaign to create safe, attractive and enjoyable streets, where people want to walk.
We have been the national voice for pedestrians throughout our 80 year history. In the early years, our campaigning led to the introduction of the driving test, pedestrian crossings and 30mph speed limits. Since then our ambition has grown. Today we influence decision makers nationally and locally, run successful projects to encourage people to walk, and provide specialist consultancy services to help reduce congestion and carbon emissions, improve public health, and make sure every community can enjoy vibrant streets and public spaces.
As part of our Ice Free Pavements campaign, we are calling for local authorities to agree a winter contract with communities, committing to:
• Ensure that they have a severe weather plan in place which includes pedestrians’ needs
• Routinely grit walking journeys to essential services, particularly considering the most vulnerable such as children and older people
• Have a list of volunteers who can be activated by email to help clear streets and alert the local public to help
• Re-deploy Council staff / contractors to help clear pavements where they are unable to carry out their work because of the weather
• Provide grit bins in communities and keep them stocked so neighbours can support each other.
Published on: 22/12/2010
